"Wait, where did you learn that from?"
Su Yan's lips twitched as he said, "Also, how many times have I told you? Don't call me Little Su Yan."
Marikawa Shizuka stood with her hands on her hips, sounding quite indignant. "Who told you to come home so late today?"
"Didn't I tell you I had something to do after school and would be back late today?" Su Yan explained.
"Did you?"
Shizuka tilted her head, trying to recall.
"It was about Saeko-senpai. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it," Su Yan reminded her once more.
Signing a contract with Busujima Saeko wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, so he had naturally brought it up with Marikawa Shizuka before.
It was just that Shizuka was usually such an airhead that she likely hadn't paid attention or simply forgot.
"Really?"
With Su Yan's reminder, Shizuka finally remembered.
It seemed like that really had happened.
However, she continued to act like she didn't know anything.
But her wandering eyes and her guilty avoidance of his gaze gave her away completely.
Su Yan reached out and pinched Shizuka's chubby cheeks, enunciating every word. "What do you think?"
"Wuuu... I'm sorry!"
Shizuka reached up, trying to swat away Su Yan's hands.
Failing, she let out a cute whimper.
Realizing resistance was futile, she gave up, her expression saying, 'Go ahead, do your worst.'
Seeing this, Su Yan lost interest and let go.
Shizuka patted her belly. "I'm hungry!"
Su Yan sighed. "I really can't deal with you. Did you buy groceries when you came back?"
"I did, I did! I bought lots of meat today! I stuffed the fridge full," Shizuka said with a quick nod.
"Fine then."
Hearing that, Su Yan rolled up his sleeves and headed for the kitchen. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back to her. "By the way, have you showered yet?"
Shizuka shook her head. "Not yet."
"Go take a shower then. By the time you're done, dinner will be ready."
Su Yan added, "Oh, and remember to start the bath for me afterward. I want to soak in the tub tonight."
"Little Su Yan, let's wash together!"
Shizuka clung to Su Yan's arm like a child, acting spoiled.
Su Yan wasn't falling for it. He nudged her head away. "Stop messing around. If we both shower, who's going to cook? Besides, if you shower and then cook, you'll just end up smelling like grease. It'd be a waste."
"Then let Snowball Beast do the cooking," Shizuka suggested with a straight face.
"Mi?"
Hearing their name, the two little cuties in the corner twitched their furry ears. They turned around, their tiny eyes filled with confusion.
The Snowball Beast let out a bewildered cry toward Shizuka.
Even someone who didn't understand their language could hear the pure emotion in that cry.
Snowball Beast: 'What? Me?'
"Shizuka-san, please, I'm begging you. Be a normal person for once."
Su Yan's eyebrows shot up. Making a Snowball Beast—who wasn't even as big as Shizuka's head and didn't even have hands—cook dinner? Only she could come up with that.
'At least wait until Snowball Beast evolves into Angewomon—no, at least until it reaches its Champion stage, the cat-like Gatomon—before saying things like that.'
"Hehe!"
Sensing the strange looks from both Su Yan and the Snowball Beast, Shizuka realized how ridiculous her slip of the tongue was. She played dumb and slipped into the bathroom.
Su Yan shook his head with a bitter smile.
Shizuka was almost thirty, older than he had been before transmigrating, yet she usually acted like a child.
It always felt like he was raising a giant toddler.
Seeing her retreat into the bathroom, Su Yan said no more and turned toward the kitchen.
Most kitchens in Japan were open-concept, connected to the living room, unlike back in China where the kitchen was usually its own separate room.
Opening the refrigerator, Su Yan expected it to be empty since he was the one who usually did the shopping and cooking.
To his surprise, it was packed to the brim. The entire fridge was stuffed.
Su Yan picked out a few ingredients and put them in the sink. Then he took the inner pot of the rice cooker and started washing rice.
He spent over half an hour getting everything prepped.
With a ding, the rice cooker finished its job right on time.
Now for the actual cooking.
He set aside the plates he would need.
Then he started stir-frying.
They were just simple home-cooked dishes. For Su Yan, who grew up in China, it was easy, and he finished quickly.
"It smells so good!"
Right then, Shizuka emerged from the bathroom, wrapped only in a white towel that left little of her fine figure to the imagination.
Smelling the food, she showered Su Yan with praise, offering plenty of emotional validation.
Su Yan had long since grown accustomed to her occasionally giving him 'fan service' around the house.
Besides, there was no one else in the house, so he didn't say much about it.
"Delicious!"
Shizuka hurried to the table and, like a greedy little kitten, pinched a piece of meat with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.
A look of pure bliss spread across her face, which greatly satisfied Su Yan's vanity as a cook.
He had to admit, Japanese women really lived up to their reputation when it came to providing emotional support.
Otherwise, how could a 'lazy guy' like Su Yan—who probably ordered takeout 365 days a year before transmigrating—keep cooking for Shizuka for an entire year?
Anyone would have been hooked by that kind of treatment.
"Alright, sit down and eat," Su Yan said with a smile.
"Yes, sir!"
Shizuka gave a playful salute and sat down obediently, waiting for Su Yan to serve her.
While scooping the rice, Su Yan asked, "By the way, Shizuka-san, I remember you mentioning a best friend named Minami Rika who lives with you. When is she coming back?"
"Does Little Su Yan want to sign a contract with Rika? Don't worry, I'll talk her into it once she's back."
Waiting to be fed, Shizuka patted her chest and gave her word.
"Who was asking about that?"
Su Yan rolled his eyes. "The zombie crisis I told you about is likely to break out soon. If you can reach her, you should tell her to come back quickly to avoid any trouble."
He wasn't actually worried about her safety. In the series 'Highschool of the Dead', Shizuka's best friend Minami Rika was a total badass.
Not only was she a member of a special forces unit, but she had also hidden a literal arsenal of modern firearms throughout the house she shared with Shizuka.
It was just that in the year since his transmigration, Su Yan hadn't seen a single sign of her.
If he hadn't seen her in the anime before transmigrating and hadn't actually found her hidden weapons in the house...
...he might have suspected she was just an imaginary friend Shizuka made up.
Shizuka nodded. "Oh, oh! I got it."
Watching her stuff her face, Su Yan wondered if she had actually processed a word he said.